The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent for the third month in a row in January as total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 353,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The manufacturing sector added 23,000 jobs in January, with 7,000 positions added in chemical manufacturing and 5,000 in printing and related support activities. Employment in professional and business services grew by 74,000 jobs in January, much higher than the average monthly increase of 14,000 last year. Professional, scientific and technical services employment increased by 42,000 jobs last month.
Employment in health care increased by 70,000 in January, with 33,000 jobs added in ambulatory health care services, 20,000 in hospitals, and 17,000 in nursing and residential care facilities.
Retail employment grew by 45,000 positions in January but has seen little growth since early last year. General merchandise retailers added 24,000 jobs last month, while electronics and appliance retailers shed 3,000 jobs. Employment in social assistance increased by 30,000 in January, growth which was sparked by the 22,000 jobs added in individual and family services.
Government employment grew by 36,000 in January, which was slower than the average monthly gain of 57,000 last year. The federal government added 11,000 jobs
Employment in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction industry fell by 5,000 in January. Support activities for mining shed 7,000 jobs, which was partially offset by a gain of 2,000 jobs in oil and gas extraction.
“Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including construction, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and other services,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As unemployment rates remain low, the Federal Open Market Committee maintained its target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.50 percent last week while continuing to sell the Fed’s securities holdings. PCE inflation was below 3 percent for both total and core measurements for the first time since the spring of 2021, and fourth quarter real gross domestic product increased 3.3 percent.
Despite the positive economic numbers, it is still too early to lower the target range due to ongoing risks from geopolitical conflicts and the risk that doing so could cause demand to spike and inflation to once again increase, said Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman during a Feb. 2 speech at the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking’s assembly for bank directors.